2016 has been a glorious y.ear for PC gamers all around the world, regardless of what genres they prefer. Games such as Overwatch, Civilization 6, XCOM 2, Dark Souls 3 and Forza Horizon 3 have all given us countless hours of entertainment, and 2017 is already looking promising.
Even though we are nowhere close to the end of the year, there are already amazing games released that PC gamers can enjoy on their desktop computers or gaming laptops. There will be more games and we will feature them whenever they are released to the masses.
If you prefer older games, check out some of the best games of 2016 and pick up the one that you like the most. Amazon.com is one of the best places for this and you can find the games for a pretty low price. Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the list of the best PC games that people are spending countless hours on in the year of 2017.
The list will contain many different genres, so you can easily find something that you are going to enjoy. Hopefully, once you get to the end of the list, you will discover the game that you will spend the most time on this year!
5 – Lego Worlds
- Genre: Sandbox
- Developer: Traveller’s Tales
- Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Most of us have played with Lego in our childhood and there are also many people who continue playing with this creative and entertaining toy even in their adulthood. Not only that this is a very cool toy, but there are also many Lego games for various platforms that we can play.
You can find a Lego game alternative for almost all world-famous franchises, such as The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and many others. These games are all very addictive and their gameplay is liked by adults and kids alike.
Lego Worlds can easily be compared to the highly acclaimed sandbox game, Minecraft. It comes as no surprise that Warner Bros wanted to create a similar game, especially since Lego is all about being creative and creating your own world around you.
We finally have the chance to create literally anything that we want in a virtual world using Lego. Just like in Minecraft, you are put into a randomly generated world that you can explore and do various things in.
To summarize the game, Gamepedia wrote a pretty good article about Minecraft. Check it out HERE!
Some of the things that are available are crafting, gathering materials, using vehicles, building structures and sculptures and many other things. Various animals inhabit this world that you can tame and ride on.
The sandbox tools that are available to all players literally allow them to shape the world around them as they deem it fit. Demolishing things in this world yields you coins that you can spend on skins, vehicles and numerous other things that will make your gameplay experience even more enjoyable.
Lego Worlds already has many fans who inhabit the world and shape it according to their taste. With the myriad of different fun things and objectives that players are able to do in this game, it is surely not going to get boring for a while. There are also many videos on YouTube and other video sharing websites where users upload their creations for the world to see.
4 – South Park: The Fractured But Whole
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Developer: Ubisoft San Francisco, South Park Digital Studios
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
In 2014 we finally got a South Park game that was loved by millions of people around the globe. South Park: The Stick of Truth was a Role-Playing game that put the player into the shoes of a New Kid who arrives in South Park at the start of the game.
Not only that you could interact with some of your favorite characters from the series, but also battle against various foes in a turn-based battle system, like in older Final Fantasy games. In 2017, the long awaited sequel to the game is set to be released.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole will have the same premise, only this time, the story revolves around the squad roleplaying as superheroes in a crime filled city. The kids all have their alter egos with their special and unique powers.
Just like in the previous game, you will have the ability to assemble your squad, pick your class as well as develop your own, one-of-a-kind character that you can use to battle a plethora of different foes. We can expect the same humor and goofy dialog that can be seen in the previous game, as well as the famous TV series.
Not familiar with the show? Check it out now on IMDB!
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are known for parodying everyone and everything and it is going to be no different in this game. Just like we expect from the series, we will get everything that we want; lots of laughs, as the game makes fun of and references many things from the DC and Marvel universe.
Just like in the previous game (and any good RPG game) you will be able to acquire many items and valuable loot that you can either use to enhance your character’s powers or simply for cosmetic purposes.
Interacting with the characters that inhabit the city is also very important and if you have previously watched the TV series, you will see many recognizable faces. This game is a must-play for any South Park lovers!
Even if you are not the biggest fan, you can still try it out, especially since you can start playing the previous installment right now.
The second game might even come out until you finish the first one. Pick up South Park: The Stick of Truth from Amazon.com right now for a very good price!
3 – For Honor
- Genre: Action
- Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
If you are into medieval combat and hack-and-slash games, For Honor is surely going to be up your alley! This 2017 release redefined virtual combat as we know it. The game allows players to play as one of three historically accurate warriors; a knight, a samurai or a viking.
Depending on your preference, as well as on the fighting style that you like, you can choose your class and battle against other players or bots (computer-controlled players) in an epic battle.
There are already multiple arenas and battlefields that you can choose from, as well as various game modes, such as duels, capture the flag and a few others too. Depending on the faction that you choose, you can further customize your character by choosing a class and upgrading your weapon and equipment.
All classes have their own fighting style, skillset, and armor that they can wear. Even the weapons that each character uses are different. This means that you are never going to get bored of the game, as you can simply switch out the class or faction that you are playing as and try out different combos and fighting styles.
There are heroes with huge, two-handed swords and maces, while there are also some that use two one-handed weapons or a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. The previous two games that we have covered have pretty basic graphics, but this one doesn’t!
You can expect amazingly rendered backgrounds, characters, as well as equipment. This means that when you play For Honor, you are truly going to feel like a medieval warrior and the graphics are not going to pull you out of the virtual world and you can fully immerse yourself into the gameplay.
The battle system is one of the most interesting things about the game. You don’t simply run up to another player and start attacking, but rather you need to strategically plan your attacks, as well as blocks. When you start the game, you are put into a tutorial zone where the game teaches you the basics.
You need to learn to anticipate your opponent’s attack patterns and block/dodge accordingly and strike when the opportunity is right. Since the release of the game, millions of players have jumped into the virtual arena to battle for their factions.
It comes as no surprise that with such an amazing combat system and graphics many players have already fallen in love with For Honor.
With new patches and expansions coming up, the game is going to evolve and become even more addicting, so be sure to check it out HERE!
2 – Star Citizen
- Genre: Space Simulator, First-person Shooter
- Developer: Cloud Imperium Games, Foundry 42, Behaviour Interactive
- Publisher: Cloud Imperium Games
- Platforms: Linux, PC
2016 wasn’t the best year for space simulators, as No Man’s Sky was a very basic and boring game that many people have been disappointed by. Star Citizen might be the breath of fresh air that we all need and deserve, especially players who love flying around in space, exploring planets and mining whatever they can get their hands on.
If you are interested in the game though, it’s still available on Amazon for a pretty low price. Click here and check it out!
There are so many things that you can do in this world that it boggles the mind! Not only that you are flying around in space, looking for new planets to explore, but you can also land, use various vehicles and do objectives such as visiting distress beacons, helping residents get rid of bandits and many others things.
Trading with other players is also a huge aspect of the game that allows you to get the currency that you need in order to survive in this dog-eat-dog world. The game has multiple game modes; an open-world multiplayer mode, a single player one, as well as co-op gameplay possibilities.
This means that regardless of what kind of a gamer you are, you can find the perfect conditions and style, so that you can fully immerse yourself and enjoy the gameplay.
Also, this isn’t only a space/flight simulator, as once you land on a particular planet, you can exit your spaceship and explore on foot or in one of the land vehicles that you can purchase.
Even though the game is not released yet and it is only in alpha, you can see the gameplay videos that the developers have presented to their loyal fans on numerous game conventions, such as Gamescom, E3 and the Star Citizen convention, CitizenCon.
These videos are accessible through YouTube and they are very long, showing some of the best aspects that we can expect from this promising release! The game has already been in development since 2011 and we can only pray that the developers are going to release the game this year.
Of course, it is always better to wait with the release of a particular game until it is finished and polished, rather than releasing a buggy and unplayable game that will only disappoint us. Yes, I am looking at you No Man’s Sky!
1 – Mass Effect Andromeda
- Genre: Action Role-Playing Game
- Developer: BioWare
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
It was hard choosing between Star Citizen and Mass Effect Andromeda, but ultimately, Mass Effect got the number one spot on our list.
Both games are set in the future and are sci-fi masterpieces, but based on my previous experience with the franchise, Mass Effect’s story is going to be worth the wait!
Additionally, Mass Effect Andromeda has already been released and you can pick it up immediately without having to wait. In 2007, when BioWare released the first Mass Effect game, millions of people around the world played as Commander Shepard and started investigating the Reaper threat that would ultimately decide the fate of the whole galaxy.
BioWare has provided plenty of awesome games for true gamers. Read more about what they achieved so far by visiting this Wikipedia article!
Throughout the next two games, your choices truly had consequences and players had the opportunity to continue playing with these consequences by loading their save games from previous installments.
Not only that there were different dialogue options based on your paragon/renegade status, but your actions decided if a character lived to see the next game or not. Unfortunately, many people were disappointed by the third game’s ending, so seeing a new Mass Effect game is a marvelous thing for fans.
Mass Effect Andromeda is set 600 years after the end of the third game and you get to play as either Sara or Scott Ryder. You are a pathfinder who is given the task of finding and exploring planets that can be colonized.
Just like in previous games, you get to customize your character, choose from different classes and make your own decisions that will shape the future of the game and the whole galaxy.
There are many similarities between Andromeda and the original Mass Effect Trilogy, but unlike the older games, this will be an open-world experience; meaning that you can go wherever you want, whenever you want to.
Would you rather play the series as a whole, continuous story? Get the Mass Effect Trilogy pack now and start it right from the beginning!
This opens up a plethora of new possibilities and gives way to many new features that BioWare implemented into the game. If you are not familiar with the gameplay of the franchise, basically you see the world from a third-person perspective and you get to choose your preferred weapon, equipment and you also have a few customization options that will make your character truly unique.
You can level up, unlock new abilities and find new gear that will aid you in your journey. Exploring is highly advised in these games, as you never know what you might find; an overpowered weapon could be lying behind a crate or in a locker!
Even though the initial release of the game was quite bugged and the animations of the characters (especially the main hero/heroine) was atrocious, BioWare quickly fixed this with an update. As it stands right now, Mass Effect: Andromeda is a fun experience and it might just be one of the best games that are released in 2017.
Hopefully, they will make a sequel that builds upon the already established story and that these Mass Effect games will be just as thrilling as the original trilogy!
There you have it! These are the best games of 2017, according to us. Of course, there might be games that come out later in the year that will be more deserving of being called the “Game of the Year”, but as it stands, these are the best contestants.
In order to play most of these new releases, you will have to have a pretty beefy setup, especially if you like your frames per second high. If you have an older personal computer, this is the time to either get a completely new gaming setup or to simply purchase gaming hardware that will increase the performance of your desktop computer.
As always, Amazon.com has a large selection of books and e-books that can help you build the perfect gaming PC for these upcoming releases. Of course, you can also simply visit your local electronics store and ask for assistance when it comes to building a computer or choose from one of the many pre-made setups. Either way, you are not going to want to give up on playing these games, as they are some of the best that we can expect from 2017!